Chapter 143: Only One Room Left
Chapter 143: Only One Room Left
Lei Tianming froze for a moment. Letting that guy sit beside her — the café’s tables were tiny, so wouldn’t that mean sitting practically shoulder to shoulder? How intimate would that be?
Fine, but there was no helping it. If he suddenly refused to sit, that would be terribly impolite.
“Senior, what are you doing in Meining? Shouldn’t you be in the capital? I heard you run a big medical equipment company, specializing in imported devices. Business must be booming. Congratulations.”
Lei Tianming saw Zhang Yang sitting smugly beside Yang Jing, even sneakily reaching out as if to wrap his arm around her waist. His chest tightened in frustration, and he replied absentmindedly, “Just scraping by. By the way, I saw you on TV — you’re quite the celebrity now, the director of that famous late-stage cancer rehabilitation center…”
His gaze shifted and finally landed on Zhang Yang. Smiling, he asked, “Oh, right, you haven’t introduced me yet. This gentleman is…?”
Zhang Yang was speechless. Damn it, is this guy pretending or just acting dumb? You already know Yang Jing is the operations director of the Rehabilitation Center, but you don’t know I’m the president of Nuwa Company?
“He’s my little brother!” Yang Jing glanced at Zhang Yang, smiling sweetly. A faint tenderness naturally flickered in her eyes.
“Little brother?” Lei Tianming asked suspiciously.
“Mm, what’s the problem?” Yang Jing patted Zhang Yang’s shoulder affectionately. “Don’t we look like it?”
“Ah, haha, oh, I see!” Lei Tianming laughed, slapping his forehead. “Look at my memory — this must be the famous President Zhang Yang of Nuwa Company! A pleasure to meet you… uh, wait, your surnames are Zhang and Yang?”
“What’s strange about that?” Zhang Yang placed his hand on Yang Jing’s slender waist and patted her shoulder. “We’re cousins, got a problem with that?”
“Cousins, huh? No wonder!” Lei Tianming looked at Zhang Yang’s hand. Since when do cousins hold each other like that? This cousin sure is bold!
The touch on her waist sent a strange tingling through Yang Jing’s body. She shot Zhang Yang a quick side glance and pinched him when Lei wasn’t looking — a silent warning not to push his luck.
She then smiled cheerfully and said, “Y-yeah, cousins! So, Senior, what brings you to Meining?”
At that, Lei Tianming’s face dimmed. “To be honest, I was supposed to sign an import contract for ultrafiltration machines with Hitter Biotech. But their recent stock performance has been poor, so they canceled.”
“Oh, that’s unfortunate.” Yang Jing glanced at Zhang Yang, her eyes clearly saying, This is your doing, kid.
“So, Junior, where are you headed?” Lei Tianming changed the subject casually.
Yang Jing shook the boarding pass in her hand. “To the capital — visiting my old school.”
“You’re going to the capital too?” Lei Tianming’s eyes lit up, and he quickly pulled out his own boarding pass. “Then we must be on the same flight!”
Checking their tickets confirmed it — same flight. Zhang Yang frowned and tightened his arm around Yang Jing’s waist. She wriggled but couldn’t escape his grip, finally giving up.
Once on the plane, Lei Tianming sat in first-class business, while Zhang Yang and Yang Jing were in economy. At least Zhang Yang was rid of that annoying guy.
“Good thing first-class was sold out!” Zhang Yang grinned at Yang Jing smugly.
Yang Jing rolled her eyes. “You really don’t like Senior Lei, do you?”
“Yeah. The way he looks at you — all lustful and creepy. That guy’s no good.” Zhang Yang shifted uncomfortably in his seatbelt.
“Lustful?” Yang Jing smiled, amused. “And how do you know that?”
“I’m a man. Men understand men. You’re so beautiful — any man would be tempted.” Zhang Yang casually flipped through a travel magazine as he spoke.
“Really?” Yang Jing turned her face toward the window as the plane began to taxi. “You’re a man too. Don’t tell me you…”
“Hm? What?”
“Nothing!” Yang Jing’s cheeks flushed red — she was overthinking.
After a pause, she said, “Senior Lei — Lei Tianming — was a year above me. He was the student council president in our department, and we shared the same advisor. After graduation, he started his own medical import business, specializing in advanced Western medical equipment. It’s been doing well — several hundred million in annual revenue, and he’s preparing for an IPO.”
“You might not guess it, but he actually comes from a wealthy family. The Lei family has influence in the capital. But he chose to succeed on his own instead of relying on family connections.”
“He pursued you, didn’t he?” As the plane lifted off, the pullback force and faint ringing in their ears made Zhang Yang’s tone casual.
Yang Jing looked at him, hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. How’d you know?”
“Come on, I’m not stupid. The way he looks at you says it all. But clearly, he didn’t succeed.”
“You’re such a smartass. Back then, I was still dating Xie Long, remember?”
Zhang Yang chuckled. “Honestly, this guy seems more decent than Xie Long — tall, rich, handsome. Xie Long was a disgusting bastard. Sister Jing, your taste back then was really…”
“Hey! I was loyal, okay?”
“More like naturally gullible.”
“Oh, really? You dare insult me? I still haven’t settled the café incident with you!” Yang Jing pinched Zhang Yang’s waist.
“Ow! But hey, good thing you chose Xie Long back then — otherwise you’d probably be married to that guy by now. Guess we should thank that bastard!” Zhang Yang caught her hand to stop her from pinching him again. Her skin was unbelievably soft — it felt amazing.
Yang Jing didn’t think much of it and just glared at him. “What’s wrong with being a rich man’s wife?”
“Plenty. If it were so great, you wouldn’t have looked at Lei Tianming like he was a pile of dog shit just now.”
“A pile of… you’re impossible.” Yang Jing broke free from his grip, gave him a light slap, and asked curiously, “You could really tell?”
“I was just saying, but… you really don’t like that Lei guy, huh? He must’ve chased you hard back then.” From her eyes, Zhang Yang could tell Yang Jing was quite familiar with Lei Tianming — and maybe even avoided him a little.
Yang Jing looked at him and said calmly, “Not exactly dislike. He just went too far back then. Anyway, it’s over — no point bringing it up.”
Yang Jing didn’t mention Lei Tianming again, and Zhang Yang didn’t press. They just talked about the Rehabilitation Center.
By around 11 p.m., they finally arrived in the capital. Lei Tianming was waiting at the exit, hoping to invite Yang Jing to his home, but she firmly refused.
Soon after they got off the plane, soft snow began to fall — fine flakes drifting down like feathers. For Zhang Yang, a southerner, it was fascinating. He bombarded Yang Jing, who had studied six years in the capital, with endless questions.
They caught a cab and rode for two hours. Around 1 a.m., they finally arrived near Peking Union Medical College. Unfortunately, because of the snow, all the hotels were full. After nearly another hour of searching, they finally found a small, modest budget hotel.
“Man, it’s late. You’re lucky — there’s only one room left,” said the tall front desk girl in a thick Northeastern accent, looking at them like they’d hit the jackpot.
“One room?” Zhang Yang looked at Yang Jing, and she looked back at him — his face wrapped in a scarf, still struggling to adjust to the freezing capital weather.